Statement by
Ms. Carolyn Hannan
Director
Division for
the Advancement of Women
Department of
Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations
Distinguished Participants,
It is an honour and a pleasure for me to
address this meeting in my capacity as Director of the Division for the
Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs. I would like to congratulate Ms. Leila Milani
and other members of the Working Group on Ratification of the UN Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on this
important new publication on CEDAW. I want to assure you that the Division for
the Advancement of Women will use the new publication very effectively in its
work.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of
Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Joseph Biden, Senator
Bill Nelson and the late Senator Paul Wellstone. I know there are many other
individuals and groups I should also acknowledge and thank for their support
for the ratification of CEDAW. I also want to thank the Working Group and the
United Nations Association of the National Capital Area and for bringing so
many people together for this luncheon.
The new publication is particularly pertinent for the work of the Division for the Advancement of Women. The Division is responsible for, among other things, the substantive and technical servicing of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, the expert body responsible for monitoring implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. In addition, the Division provides advisory services and technical cooperation programmes, on request of Member States, aimed at supporting the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and its Optional Protocol at national level. This work includes supporting the capacity of States parties to meet their reporting obligations under the Convention and training judges and lawyers on the use of the Convention. The Division has recently begun working on implementation of the Convention in countries emerging from conflict, including Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
The Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly on
The Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women is the body of 23 independent experts established
by the Convention to monitor its implementation in those States that have
ratified or acceded to the Convention.
Upon ratification or accession to the Convention, States parties assume
specific obligations for the full implementation of the Convention at the
national level. States parties are
expected to embody the principle of equality of women and men in their national
constitutions or other appropriate legislation, and to ensure through law and
other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle. The Convention also requires States parties
to pursue a policy of eliminating discrimination against women, and to take all
appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination, whether committed by public
authorities or by any person or organization.
Distinguished
Senators, ladies and gentlemen,
The CEDAW Convention has been instrumental in shaping the legal and policy framework and furthering the international agenda on the human rights of women. It has been an inspiration for women in all parts of the world and has been responsible for significant change at the country level, as well as in the international sphere. Women’s groups and networks have effectively used the Convention to combat discrimination, including in the areas of violence against women, poverty, lack of legal status, inability to inherit or own property, and lack of access to credit.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women provides all countries with a benchmark against which to assess progress on the elimination of discrimination against women, over time, and in a systematic manner. A “value added” of the Convention is the fact that it has a global reach, being relevant for all countries in the world. This Convention is also unique in that it elaborates the meaning of discrimination against women, on the basis of sex, in all spheres: civil, political, economic, social and cultural. It establishes obligations for States parties to eliminate discrimination in the enjoyment of all rights, and also requires States parties to take measures to eliminate discrimination in the private sphere, including in private enterprise and in the family. These obligations are with respect to the elimination of de jure, as well as de facto discrimination. This is important in countries where the laws may be very good, but where practice leaves much to be desired. The obligation in article 5, for example, that the State party should take all appropriate measures to eliminate patterns of behaviour that lead to the stereotyping of the roles of women and men, is critical for addressing the underpinnings of gender discrimination that are notoriously difficult to influence.
The strength of the CEDAW process is its binding nature and periodicity, i.e. the fact that States Parties are required to report on a regular basis. Reporting to the CEDAW Committee should be an integral part of national-level processes of assessing the impact of efforts to reduce discrimination and to promote gender equality. CEDAW provides a very useful process of continuous self-reflection at national level – with the assistance of an independent expert body. Reporting should be viewed as a dynamic process with real potential for promoting concrete change.
The Convention has had a positive impact on legal and other developments in
support of gender equality in countries throughout the world. Developments include the strengthening of
provisions in Constitutions of many countries guaranteeing equality between
women and men and providing a constitutional basis for the protection of
women’s human rights. For example, the
revised Brazilian Constitution includes extensive guarantees reflective of the
Convention, and the South African Constitution contains significant provisions
guaranteeing women’s equality.
In some countries, commissions to review legislation and propose reform
in the spirit of the Convention have been established, including the Ugandan
Law Reform Commission, whose first task was to propose amendments to the
personal laws, which impacted negatively on women and girls. After ratifying the Convention,
Temporary special measures to enhance women’s participation in politics
have also been introduced, such as the constitutional amendment in
Judges have used the Convention in their decision-making. For example, the Botswana Court of Appeal
relied on international treaties, including the Convention, to uphold a
challenge to the provisions of the nationality law, which at the time did not
permit a Botswanan woman, married to a non-Botswanan national to pass on her
nationality to her children. The Supreme Court of Nepal relied on the Convention
in calling for the Government to introduce a bill to Parliament to address
discriminatory laws which provided that while a son was entitled to a share of
his father’s property at birth, a daughter was only able to obtain a share when
she reached the age of 35 and was unmarried.
The Supreme Court of Canada also invoked the Convention and the
Committee’s general recommendation no. 19 on violence against women in a case
of alleged sexual assault. The
Constitutional Court of Guatemala referred to the Convention in upholding a
challenge to provisions in the penal code, which treated men and women
differently.
In other countries, mechanisms to
ensure effective protection of women’s rights have been established. In
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Gender equality is a goal that has been increasingly accepted by governments and international organizations. Attention to women’s full enjoyment of all their human rights has also increased remarkably in recent years. The situation of women is being addressed more systematically within the framework of guarantees of equal enjoyment of rights and of non-discrimination.
It is clear, however, that there are persistent global patterns to inequality between women and men. Women tend to suffer violence at the hands of their intimate partners more often than men; women’s political participation and their representation in decision-making structures lag behind men’s; women and men have different economic opportunities; women are over-represented among the poor; women do not have equal opportunity in education; and women and girls make up the majority of people trafficked and involved in the sex trade. These issues - and others - need to be addressed in efforts to promote gender equality.
As we look forward to commemorating the 25th anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Convention later in the year, we will use the occasion not only to celebrate our achievements and the distance the international community has travelled in protecting and promoting women’s human rights during this time, but also to look at the challenges and obstacles that still lie ahead to reach the goal of full implementation of the Convention’s principles universally.
Distinguished
Senators,
The
The United States is party to other international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratification in 1992); the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ratification in 1994); and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ratification in 1994).
Many
states, counties and cities in the
In
not ratifying CEDAW, the
The continuing efforts to push ratification of the Convention forward, by the Working Group, the UN Association of the National Capital Area, and other groups, networks and individuals, have been encouraging. The vote in 2002 by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to approve the Convention, thus sending the treaty to the full Senate for a vote on ratification, was an important step forward.
I know that you all
agree with me on how important it is for the
I wish you the best in your future
deliberations and efforts on this matter and pledge the support of the Division
for the Advancement of Women in whatever way possible.
Thank
you.